LVG C.VI - the German/ Polish/ Lituanian light bomber - reconnaissance aircraft

In the second half of 1917 the Swiss designer Eng. Franz Schneider, while working at the Luft-Verkehrs-Gesellschaft, a German aviation factory in Berlin, developed a new multi-purpose aircraft, the LVG C.VI, based on his earlier designs of this type, produced at the same LVG factory, especially the 1914 experimental plane LVG E.I and a two-seater reconnaissance plane and light bombers from 1915: LVG C.II, LVG C.IV from 1916 and LVG C.V from 1917. The newly developed aircraft was a biplane, similar to the previous one, but more aerodynamic. It differed in dimensions, was lighter and more manageable, more economical. LVG C.VI fuselage - a wooden frame with a circular section in the front and a rectangle in the middle, tapering towards the tail. The forward part of the fuselage housed a liquid-cooled in-line engine. The upper part of the engine protrudes above the contour of the fuselage. There were two open cockpits behind the engine: the first one for the pilot, protected from the front by a small windshield, the second one for the scout. At the rear of the fuselage, classic elliptical tail-planes, consisting of stabilizers, keel and rudders are installed. The fuselage was covered from the front, near the engine, with an aluminum sheet, further - with plywood. The wings are longitudinal, wooden structures, rectangular, covered with canvas. They were slightly rounded at the ends. Ailerons only on the upper wing, which also had a fuel tank in the front, and an engine coolant radiator in the middle behind it. LVG C.VI airplane first flew at the beginning of 1918 and, after the end of the tests, serial production was started. The Germans successfully directed these planes into the hostilities of the Western Front of the First World War. Even after the end of the war, they were used in the aviation of several countries. A total of around 100 LVG C.VI aircraft were produced. Lituanian Military Aviation used a total of 22 units LVG C.VI. Some of them were purchased from the German Air Force, taken from the Bermonters and produced by their own forces in the Military Aviation Workshop (6 units). Two of the latter were operated until the Soviet occupation in 1940. LVG C. VI was the aircraft of the Lituanian Military Aviation, that was mostly used in the independence battles. In the fight against the Bolsheviks, this aircraft was mainly used, because there were no others, in the fight against the Poles - because it was the fastest (170 km/h) and the most bomb-carrying (120 kg) plane, and both the aggressors in their almost no fighters were used to protect military units from the air. Thirteen LVG C.VI planes (No. 9001, 9005, 9006, 9088, 9090, 9092, 7626, 8942, 5001, 5003, 11100, 11102, 12017) participated in the independence struggle. Until 1929, it was the best reconnaissance aircraft of the Lituanian military aviation. From 1929 until the Soviet occupation, this type of aircraft was used for communications, training and towing aerial targets. Not a single fatal accident occurred during the entire period of use of the aircraft. The only pilot, who died, while flying this plane - Juozas Kumpis - died during hostilities, from enemy bullets.

A well-designed and well-detailed, colorful airplane model of medium difficulty for modellers of all experience. Only beginners and little experienced are recommended to work under the supervision of a more experienced colleague. Cabin equipment, engine, armament, chassis, external details are perfectly restored in the model. The model reproduces the plane, used by the Toruń Air Intelligence Officers School in 1921 (serial number 550/18). There is no color stock, and it wouldn't help much with this camouflage. The graphic instruction is not too large, but informative and easy to read, the text is small and only provides additional notes to the information on the drawings. Based on the information, found on the Internet, and using computer rendering programs, this model can be repainted into one of the Lituanian ones and glued together